Indian Gambling Official To Step Down In January

The nation’s top regulator of Indian gambling, criticized recently for acting more like a cheerleader for tribal casinos than a federal administrator, has resigned.

The regulator, Harold A. Monteau, the first Indian to head a U.S. federal regulatory commission, said he was leaving because he can be more useful to Native Americans outside government.

A spokeswoman for Monteau, 43, chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission, denied that he was being pushed out the door.

“Nobody’s making him leave,” said spokeswoman Charlotte Hrncir. “It was his decision.”

Monteau, an attorney and a Chippewa Cree Indian from Montana, was appointed by President Clinton in 1994. He said through his spokeswoman that he would leave by the end of January.